Students

These are the students I am supervising or have supervised:

Postgraduate Students

@ Swinburne University of Technology

Sania Mahajan [PhD] (Principal supervisor) Her thesis is a study of the quantity and quality of questions that undergraduate students make during their mathematics courses.
Alex Lee [PhD] (co-Supervisor) His thesis is a study of the use of “nudges” in mathematics teaching.

@ Loughborough University

Eirini Kouvela [PhD] (Principal supervisor) (completed). Her thesis was a study on transition to University and how different messages are interpreted and enacted by first year undergraduate mathematics students.
Nikolaos Vlaseros [PhD] (co-Supervisor) (completed). His thesis was a study of how Pedagogical Content Knowledge is delivered in Teacher Training courses.
Stephen Broughton [MPhil] (Principal supervisor) (completed). His thesis was a study of the effectiveness of mathematics Computer-Aided Assessment (CAA).

Undergraduate Students (final year projects)

@ Loughborough University

Arun Godwin Patel (completed). His project was a Social Network Analysis of first year undergraduate mathematics students collaborative study habits and the impact this has on their achievement.
John Brooks (completed).
His project was a study of the impact of dialogue in mathematics lectures.
Emma Wills and Robyn Potter (completed).
They developed and evaluated a mathematics diagnostic test for first year undergraduate students.
Elizabeth Washington (completed).
Her project was a study of procedural and conceptual understanding of linear algebra concepts in a third year mathematics module.

This is what some of my past students said about my teaching:

He taught in a way which made students have to think for the answers themselves, which really helped with the understanding of questions that were tricky, but would help if you were truly stuck without an idea of what to do. He was great!

The teacher, Paul made it enjoyable to learn and I definitely did learn.

Paul was amazing, especially the online videos, they helped a lotttttt

Thank you, Paul, for a semester of decoding maths problems, mainly helping students to understand mathematical concepts and how to read questions properly. The soft skills acquired alongside the maths concepts were very helpful.

Paul does a stellar job at teaching this unit, each lecture and Q&A session leaves it very clear that he wants every student to do their best.

Excellent. Really, really good. Paul is thorough, patient and genuine. He makes a real effort to keep the class engaged. Much has been done to give the maximum chance of doing well and learning from the unit. This is probably the best unit I have taken at Swinburne so far. I feel encouraged to pursue more study in the area of mathematics after taking this unit and I hope that will be possible.

Paul is a great teacher. His concept explanation is extraordinary. I like this little mathematics jokes in lecture notes. I highly appreciate his time and all the support in delivering this unit in such challenging times.

Paul, he's a great teacher who relates maths concepts to the real world and solves problems in a way that makes sense. He's also very nice, funny and understanding.

Paul is a fantastic lecturer who is committed to providing a rewarding learning experience. His support has definitely motivated me to go further with my studies and to set myself high goals. The organisation of material on Canvas is easy to find and that is very much appreciated when topic quizzes are due and I want to do further practice. I also like how Paul applies the maths we are learning to real life experiences because I have regularly been like 'when are we ever going to use this stuff??' but I can see it now!

You have been a fantastic academic who has really never given up on us! Thank you for that. To be honest, I've hated maths all my life and maths teachers terrified me, I think of them as geniuses with big brains! You are so humble and approachable. Thanks!

Very informative and entertaining slides. Taking things back to what is a number was great. Paul obviously has a very deep passion for maths and is able to explain everything very clearly. His transition to teaching all online has been the best. Very clear, easy to follow and integrate for home and most productive particularly with having Q and A sessions.

While my studies have not been able to be the focus of my attention to the level I would have otherwise liked this semester [...] I'd like to thank you for your efforts through this subject. While I have not made nearly enough use of the support that you have offered to students, I have found the way in which you have taken the time to work through and engage with students outstanding and an absolute outlier in my time at Swinburne. I do hope that your energy does not go unnoticed by those in your academic faculty.

I was really worried about this class, I failed advanced mathematics in high school, and maths is not my strong point but Paul supported my learning and has well equiped me with knowledge to continue onto Essential Mathematics. Paul's teaching is very different to every maths teacher I've had before. I can probably attribute my good grades to this, change is not always a bad thing. Change is really good when you haven't been able to understand something in the past. Thanks for a great semester!

Paul is very well rounded. He tries to communicate the real world examples and the purpose of the content he is teaching. He urges students to ask for his help, and he genuinely cares about the success of the students.

Paul is a great teacher. He's the kind of teacher you do not want to let down.

Paul make it easier for me to understand the content of this unit. He is also very keen to help any student that encountered problems in the unit throughout the semester. One of the best lecturer and tutor.

Paul has been a great teacher. This unit and its students have really benefitted by his passion, student-centred focus and his ability to quickly respond. He has made himself available to his students to help them and I think he is a huge asset to the university. [...] Thank you very much Paul for your excellent teaching, it really made a big difference!

Paul is great, always understanding and knows how to crack a joke when all of us are a bit tense with the content.

This is not a unit that is anything like my previous or usual units that I completed. It was challenging in a good way, in that what was being learnt was quite meaningful and would be used in different settings and applications. [...] The best aspect of the unit is the teacher, Paul, who takes a very student focussed approach to his teaching.

I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed this module and I want to thank you for all the work you put into creating it. It has been my favourite module so far at university. [...] I think that everything I've learned from this module has helped me to become a better tutor and has been extremely useful for my future career as a maths teacher. Also, you were a great lecturer!

I loved everything about this module. I learned new things every lecture and everything I learned was so interesting and useful. In addition, the lecturer was super approachable and always made me look forward to the lectures!

Students

This is what some of my past students said about my teaching:

Department of Mathematics | PO Box 218 (Internal H38) Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia

+61 (0) 392148216

phernandezmartinez@swin.edu.au

Paul Hernandez Martinez